The invention relates to a radiology table which comprises a stationary or movable frame supporting a table top on which a patient is positioned. The table further includes a column carrying an X-ray source, and an image-receiver mount. The column comprises a tubular base of fixed length. The base of the column is mounted on the frame so as to be pivotable about a tilting axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the column. The column also comprises a telescopic part carrying the X-ray source and being slidable inside the tubular base. The tilting angle of the column is variable and the length of the column between the tilting axis and the source is adjustable to a plurality of values. The length of the column may be varied independently of the tilting angle or alternatively as a function of the tilting angle in order to obtain a linear source path for tomographic scanning purposes.
Such a table is known from French Pat. No. 1,569,601. It is used in medical radiology, primarily for oblique exposures during which the X-ray source and the image-receiver (for example photographic film or an image intensifier) are stationary but aligned on an axis which is not perpendicular to the patient plane. This orientation is achieved by means of a first motor which tilts the column.
The table described in French Pat. No. 1,569,601 also permits radiographs to be made with various source-patient distances by means of a second motor, acting in fact as a jack which varies the length of telescopic column. Finally, the table permits body-section radiographs to be made by a suitable combination of the tilting angle and the length of the telescopic column, the linear displacement of the source being obtained by means of a suitable cam profile (which described in German Pat. No. 1,118,928).
The table according to French Pat. No. 1,569,601 requires the use of two motors arranged on the column. This is a heavy and expensive construction.